I don't know what to do with this. The cable got yanked out when the front wheel was off and the handlebars were twisted the wrong way, so it's the front brake cable. I'm really really really reluctant to mess with anything beyond the wheels and chain on my bike, but I also really don't want to have to bring this to a bike shop. What do I do?
i mean i can push it back in so it looks normal but then when i pull it the brake stays closed after releasing. there really isn't anything to tighten on the other end
see the spot where the cable is pinched on the upper left hand side of the picture? That's the adjustment screw. You loosen that, pull the slack from the cable, then tighten it back up.
it's rainy and dark right now and i can't find my tools, but if that's all it takes to fix it when i get around to it tomorrow I'm gonna be so pissed that i missed such an obvious solution , especially when the cable is flattened and obviously not where it used to be
Eh... sometimes obvious things are wrong too. Letting extra eyes look at things is good sometimes.
Don't beat yourself up over it. I spent all of college fixing up shitty bike shaped objects for fun(and one time profit!). I never spent more than 250 dollars on my own bikes so I know how to keep them going. Keep at it and all the parts will start to make sense.